[Vol. 6] Chapter 226: As the Saying Goes, Fighting Means Love
“?!”
Although [Light Protection] was only a Tier 6 spell, Violet hadn’t expected it to completely block attacks from someone as extraordinary as Xiao Kong, a former god. However, she didn’t anticipate the barrier being bypassed in such a clever way.
Caught off guard, Violet quickly raised the [Eternal Scepter of the World's Heart] to block the cat claws coming straight at her.
A flash of light followed. The claws turned illusory again but, for some reason, couldn’t penetrate the staff’s core. Instead, they collided heavily with it, producing a crisp “ding” sound.
“Tch!”
Failing to land her strike, Xiao Kong let out an annoyed click of her tongue, retreating swiftly. She glanced at the priestess’ staff, which shimmered faintly from the intense clash but remained entirely unharmed. With a casual tone, she remarked,
“Your weapon really is something special. That’s not the kind of thing mere durability could handle.”
“Oh…”
“Don’t ‘oh…’ me!”
The initial shock fading, Violet, with her wealth of experience, quickly pieced things together.
Xiao Kong’s powers were indeed related to “space”, as she had claimed, but it wasn’t the straightforward type of spatial manipulation Violet had first imagined. For a while, she had been curious about the exact nature of Xiao Kong’s abilities but hadn’t been able to figure it out. After this brief exchange, though, she started to understand.
If she had to describe it, Violet would call it “Traversal” or “Leap”.
Specifically, it was the power to open space and move from one point to another.
Whether tearing through space, connecting distant points, or transferring within a single world, these were all variations of the concept of “Traversal”. The only real difference was the object being moved and the direction of movement.
Xiao Kong’s technique of bypassing [Light Protection] and attacking directly from within perfectly demonstrated this principle.
What Violet couldn’t quite grasp, however, was why Xiao Kong’s power hadn’t been able to bypass the defense of the [Eternal Scepter of the World's Heart]. Still, for now, that detail didn’t matter.
In front of such a large audience, Violet refrained from overanalyzing their respective secrets. Instead, she simply raised her staff again and smiled at the cat-girl.
"Looks like it's my turn! Does this count as turn-based combat?"
"Whish-whish-whish-whish-whish-whish!!!"
With a surge of divine power, more than ten radiant spears of light, each several meters long, instantly formed behind the black-haired girl and shot toward the cat-girl, who had retreated to a distance.
“Ugh, soft, fluffy attacks like these can’t hurt me!”
Silver Cat raised her claws, and a shimmering silver barrier instantly materialized in front of her. What started as a small, arm-length shield expanded to several meters wide, transforming into a gaping void. It effortlessly devoured all the incoming spears before disappearing once more.
Hmm... Just as I thought.
Seeing this, Violet, who had been testing the waters, nodded to herself in understanding.
It seemed the essence of Silver Cat’s defense was to *link two points* in space, redirecting enemy attacks to an unrelated location. In theory, this meant no type of attack could touch her, making it a form of “absolute defense.” The title wasn’t an exaggeration.
But it wasn’t unbreakable.
The warm-up was over. It was time to get serious. After all, Violet had promised to make this fight entertaining.
The black-haired girl spread her arms, closed her eyes, and murmured softly,
“[Let there be light]”
Light converged. A golden figure emerged, spreading radiant, holy wings that shimmered with brilliance. A gleaming lance materialized in her hand, and the sight sent waves of astonished gasps through the audience.
“What… what is that? It’s so cool! Isn’t [White Rainbow] supposed to be a warrior? Why does this battle feel so different from her earlier fights?”
“You’re asking me? I have no idea either! But it looks like some kind of legendary manifestation or divine form. Gotta admit, it’s insanely cool. This version of Miss White Rainbow? I’m all in!”
As expected, the appearance of the “Incarnation of Light” instantly pushed the atmosphere in the arena to a new peak. While it wasn’t entirely clear why high-tier magic from the game didn’t cause information interference in the Ancient Spirit Realm, this quirk made it much easier for Violet to use her abilities freely.
Ignoring the noise of the audience, the priestess remained utterly composed, her focus unwavering as she unleashed her advanced holy light magic.
A battle is a battle. Even against Xiao Kong, even in a friendly sparring match, she refused to be careless or underestimate her opponent.
It had been a long time since Violet had fought a powerful foe purely with magic in such a structured way. The nostalgia was oddly comforting.
In the midst of the “Incarnation of Light”, Violet opened her silver-blue eyes, a smile playing on her lips. The pure white wings behind her unfurled gracefully as she lightly snapped her fingers.
“[Divine Symphony: Act III - Heart of the Saint]”
Countless ethereal figures with wings and instruments rose into the air, and the sound of a sacred hymn roared to life, filling the tournament grounds. The grand and majestic melody seemed to materialize as visible golden notes, forming a spiraling pathway of light that enveloped the arena and ascended into the sky, surrounding the two combatants.
Both Violet and Xiao Kong possessed extraordinary power, far beyond that of ordinary people. Even if their attacks weren’t entirely aimed to harm, the residual shockwaves from their battle would still be more than enough to damage the surroundings or injure the spectators. Not even the high-strength isolation barriers could guarantee full protection.
The [Divine Symphony: Act III - Heart of the Saint], however, was a special battlefield magic designed precisely for tournaments and sparring. It created an immersive atmosphere through its music, while the merciful [Heart of the Saint] contained all residual energy within a fixed area. Only the light and melody escaped beyond, keeping the crowd safe and free from fear.
With this protective field in place, they could fight without restraint, fulfilling the demands of a certain Saint while ensuring no harm came to the spectators.
Raising her radiant wings, Violet floated gracefully into the air, her movements perfectly in sync with the elegant notes and the protective magic around her. Opposite her, the nimble cat-girl stepped lightly across the field, ascending to meet her in midair.
“Isn’t your competitive streak a little too strong? Are you sure about this?” Violet teased.
“Heh… Don’t underestimate me…”
Silver light swirled around the cat-girl, and a massive, ethereal figure began to emerge behind her. Though its form was unclear, the nine vibrant tails swaying behind it were impossible to miss, drawing all eyes to the captivating sight.
At some point, Xiao Kong’s determined eyes had been completely filled with a dazzling silver light, and she wore a smile brimming with fighting spirit.
“Come on! Let me show you my real skills!”
…………………………………
“Ugh… I lost…”
Slumped over a table, Xiao Kong lay lifelessly, staring up at the bright blue sky with a defeated expression. Beside her, the white cat Miaomiao was curled up lazily, grooming its fur in serene contentment. It was a peaceful scene, except for the fact that Xiao Kong had repeated those same words 126 times.
At last, the black-haired girl sitting at a nearby table, who had been quietly engrossed in a document, couldn’t take it anymore. She raised her head with a look of helpless exasperation.
“Come on, is it really that bad? If you really wanted to win that much, you could’ve just asked me to hold back. It’s just a meaningless title anyway. Between us, it doesn’t matter who wins, does it?”
Xiao Kong shot her a deadpan glare.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to gather enough divine power to actually use freely in my current state? I secretly spent ages preparing for this! I thought this would finally be my chance to settle the score with you, but you just had to flip it on me again, huh? You’re despicable! Absolutely despicable!”
“I wasn’t holding back! It’s just that I haven’t met anyone as strong as you until now. Honestly, you’re the toughest opponent I’ve faced…”
“Liar! Shameless liar! Pretending to be a clueless kitten while you’re actually a tiger!”
Violet, who was now being mercilessly scolded, couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly. Shaking her head, she glanced toward another black-haired girl seated nearby, deeply focused on the documents in front of her, completely ignoring their conversation.
Then, sneaking a look at Xiao Kong’s side, Violet gently pushed Miaomiao, who let out a displeased “meow”, away from the space between them.
“By the way… why were you so hostile toward me before? What’s this ‘score to settle’ you’re talking about? When did I ever offend you?”
“!?”
For some reason, Xiao Kong froze at the question. She glanced down at her arms resting on the table, then quickly turned her head away, her cheeks faintly tinged with red.
“I-I never said anything like that! You must’ve misheard!”
“Huh?”